Vintage treasure seekers find joy in both the hunt and the discovery. Finding a hidden gem – like a velvet orange Davenport sofa reminiscent of grandma’s living room or a piece of designer history just waiting to be restored – is worth the hours of shopping store to store. Antiquers actively search for pieces to add to their personal collections or to sell attheir antique shop.

The owners of ReMain, a vintage shopin downtown Springfield, can relate to the thrill of the hunt. It’s how they acquired a rare Adrian Pearsall sofa with side tables. Driving down her neighborhood street one day, co-owner Ashley Evon spotted wooden, tapered legs, indicative of Pearsall’s mid-century modern style, and what looked like pieces of a sofa piled up against a neighbor’s garage door. Not knowing if it was for sale or free curbside “junk,” Ashley and her husband, Jordan, knocked on the door with a mix of trepidation and anticipation.

It turns out, the homeowner was clearing out the house and had more vintage pieces in the basement. Not only did the owners of ReMain save a piece of design history from the landfill, but they also made a connection with a neighbor and her circle of friends, who invited them to weekly neighborhood get-togethers.

“It turned out to be a beautiful couch that we saved from the dumpster, which is always what we’re trying to do,” she said. After listing it for sale at ReMain and online, they made another connection with a couple from Illinois who drove to Springfield to buy it. “There are people that are really hunting for the perfect piece for their house.”

While brainstorming store name ideas, owners Alicia and Joe Victora, and Ashley and Jordan Evon played around with words like restore, recycle, reimagine, reengage, revitalize, redefine, resource and remain. ReMain struck a chord, encapsulating the family’smission to help revitalize the heart of Springfield and to be a resource for the community.

 

Overlooking Springfield’s Main Street, ReMain draws customers from the surrounding communities of Omaha, Lincoln, Ashland, Louisville, Gretna, Plattsmouth and beyond. Siblings Alicia and Jordan grew up in the Springfield area, and their dad has owned the corner building that currently houses ReMain since 1990.

It was Springfield’s first commercial building, built by founder Capt. J.D. Spearman. Over the years their building has been a general store, town hall, post office, hardware store, quilt store and a photographer’s workspace. The vision for ReMain was to reopen the corner store for the community and make it a homey gathering place. It took a year to clean up and build out the space. After collecting a store’s worth of vintage furniture, bric-a-brac, nostalgic treasures and local makers’ wares, ReMain opened in 2022.

“It started a movement to open up the rest of the buildings that are storefronts on Main Street,” Jordan said, noting that Main Street is becoming more accessible to the community as more people hang out their shingle. For example, Corky’s Antiques recently reopened after being shuttered for 30 years. Keith Hentzen, who owns Springfield Drug and Old Fashioned Soda Fountain, bought the building with plans to rent out half the space to a restaurant and other businesses.

“We used to be kids eating ice cream with Keith at the drug store and now we sit on the city council and are business owners alongside him,” Alicia Victora said.

ReMain collaborates with other business owners on Main Street for community events, like a pop-up floral design workshop with Leaf + Petal, the flower shop down the street. They hosted the annual OMG Vintage Market (Omaha Modernism Guild) at the Springfield Community Center, drawing around 850 people to Springfield – something the downtown business owners hadn’t experienced before.

“We brought it here because we wanted to scale it up and we knew we had the support of the City of Springfield and local businesses,” Joe Victora said.

Groovy music, retro vibes and food offerings make the market an experience as attendees browse the variety of vendors. The next OMG event is slated for April 2025.

Each owner’s role reflects their talents and passions within the family-owned business. Alicia Victora is a “people-person,” making connections and collaborations. With a background in digital media, Ashley creates engaging content that often tells the story of a particular piece. Jordanfocuses on sales and enjoys tinkering with lighting and electronics, while Joe has roots in space planning, design and sales.

Everyone creates posts on ReMain’s social media outlets to reach customers and a wider audience.There’s no shortage of content to create. “These pieces have stories to tell,” Ashley said.“The store has stories to tell. The people that come in here have stories to tell.”

Explore these small business vintage shops in Metro Omaha

ReMain in Springfield is one of many vintage shops in Metro Omaha that reimagines seemingly landfill-bound goods, restoring or creatingsomething newfrom antique pieces. Visit these other small business shops as you shop for home goods near Omaha.

 

15Two Home

Gretna

Melissa and Jacob Peterson, co-owners of 15Two Home, grew their vintage business from a side hustle at local markets to a recentlyopened brick and mortar store in old downtown Gretna. The minimalist space, reminiscent of an art gallery, allows the authentic mid-century modern pieces to stand out. A glass and steel garage door opens to a wide cobblestone street.15twohome.com, 118 N McKenna Ave., Gretna.

 

Out of the Box

Ralston

Located in the new Granary District that extends from Ralston’s Main Street to 72nd Street, Out of the Box is housed in a historic 100-year-old granary building. With 20,000 square feet of reclaimed, antique, high-quality and designer home products and furniture, treasure seekers find a multitude of contemporary, antique, retro and vintage styles.

outoftheboxstore.net, 7401 Main St., Ralston.

 

A Little More Like Home

Omaha, Joslyn Castle District

While midtown Omaha might not suggest visions of a quaint community, Elise and Jeffrey Schaecher have created a vintage space in the Joslyn Castle District, aptly named A Little More Like Home. They look for the clean lines and high quality of mid-century modern pieces they’d like to see in their own home. The Schaechers have discovered gems like rosewood tables and collections of high-end pieces in Nebraska’s small towns and the surrounding states. “Sometimes we end up traveling to places we wouldn’t imagine ourselves going to,” she said.alittlemorelikehome.shop, 3801 Dodge St., Omaha.

 

Mod Lines

Omaha, Ak-Sar-Ben/Elmwood Park Neighborhood

Opened in 2015 in the Ak-Sar-Ben/Elmwood Park neighborhood, Mod Lines specializes in authentic, curated, quality vintage and midcentury furniture, home décor and accessories. The showroom teems with refurbished pieces, making the old feel fresh and modern with new upholstery and refinished wood. With a robust online presence, the store’s followers clamor for videos and posts showcasing its ever-changing inventory.facebook.com/modlines, 5170 Leavenworth St., Suite 100, Omaha.

 

ReMain

Springfield

In the store, ReMain’s inventory leans heavily into mid-century modern (MCM) furniture and home decor, but many styles and eras are represented, from antique to vintage to retro. Intermingled with vintage luggage, kitchen gadgets, lighting, reupholstered and original MCM furniture are handmade candles in vintage glassware, local honey, crocheted koozies, hand-crafted rolling pins, steam punk-style art made with found objects and artisan-created stained glass. Over 35 local makers and artisans showcase their products.Remainspringfield.com, 192 Main St., Springfield.